March - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
34
2. Frankie Edgar def. B.J Penn I – UFC 112
1. Royce Gracie def. Ken Shamrock – UFC 1
Entering as +725 underdog, on paper Frankie
Edgar’s unanimous decision win over B.J. Penn,
who was at the time, was widely considered
one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters
on the planet. Penn entered this contest hav-
ing defended his 155-pound title with three
consecutive violent stoppage wins. He looked
unstoppable as he licked the blood of victims off
his gloves. But aura of invincibility was stripped
away as Edgar shocked the world and he claimed
Penn’s UFC belt that fateful night in Abu Dhabi.
He would follow this with an even more domi-
nating win over Penn in their rematch before
putting on back-to-back Fight of the Year per-
formances against Gray Maynard. In hindsight,
Edgar’s initial win over Penn was far from an up-
set, more of a coming out party for one of the
world’s top fighters below 170-pounds.
Shamrock at the time was billed as the “The
World’s Most Dangerous Man.” With a body-
builder physique, a stare that could cut through
an opponent’s soul and pedigree that was unri-
valed at the time in terms of unarmed combat,
Shamrock was the clear favorite to win UFC’s
first ever one night tournament back in 1993.
After dispatching his first opponent with, it ap-
peared Shamrock was well on his way to running
the table. That all changed in the form of Royce
Gracie, a scrawny, unknown Brazilian wrapped
in what would become his trademark gi. It took
Gracie less than a minute to cut through Sham-
rock’s defenses on the mat before locking on a
tight rear naked choke, forcing his hulking op-
ponent to submit. The rest, as the say, is his-
tory. Gracie would go on to not only win that
tournament but also UFC 2 and UFC 4, cement-
ing himself as the most important fighter in the
UFC’s earliest years and bring the Gracie name
to the pantheon of MMA.
5. Benson Henderson vs. Brandon Thatch – UFC Fight Night 60
There was a time when Benson Henderson
seemed unbeatable against any man not named
Anthony Pettis. That time has come and gone.
Since losing his title to Pettis, he has been de-
feated twice by Rafael Dos Anjos and Don-
ald Cerrone. Taking the fight against Brandon
Thatch on short noticed seemed like an emo-
tional and desperate decision. He would be
fighting a young, up and coming fighter, in his
home town which happens to be located in Col-
orado at altitude. Henderson’s recently losses
and size disadvantage played key roles in mak-
ing him an underdog with the odds makers. As
the fight went past the 2nd round it became
clear that Henderson still had the skills that led
him to the title. In the fourth round he was able
to secure the rear naked choke, and immedi-
ately show the world he did it all with a tooth
pick concealed in his mouth. Henderson is back,
and we should have never doubted him.
Davis’ List
